This invention relates to construction brackets, and more particularly to a bracket for supporting a horizontal board or beam, such as the type that may serve as a fire block between vertical studs in the wall of the structure, and a method for installing that bracket.
A fire block is well known in the construction industry as a board or beam set between two studs to inhibit the spread of fire by limiting the oxygen available to the fire and by reducing the “chimney effect” of the space between vertical studs. Traditionally, the installation of a fire block includes delivery of appropriately-sized boards or beams, conventionally 2×4 boards, to the construction area and then cutting the boards or beams to the appropriate length and sizing them to the exact distance between each pair of studs, and finally nailing the boards or beams in place. This is a time-consuming and often wasteful process in that adjacent studs may either be bowed or for other reasons not spaced identically from the adjacent stud. This means that each fire block board must be cut on-site to the correct length to achieve a close fit. If the board is inadvertently cut too short, it cannot be used because it would not provide the desired blockage to prevent spread of a fire. Without a tight fit the fire could spread through the wall in a chimney-like fashion. Moreover, having to nail each fire block onto the studs takes a significant amount of time and energy.